The Secret Six Jazz Band, led by bassist John Joyce, will take the stage April 6 to play the Dew Drop Jazz & Social Hall in Old Mandeville. The band's lineup of musicians rotates, as everyone still also plays with the Smoking Time Jazz Club and other older jazz groups, and the number of players varies, from venue to venue. But what doesn't change is the band's devotion to its role in the latest wave of the jazz renaissance that continues in New Orleans.
The Secret Six is a traditional jazz ensemble that specializes in stomps, blues, rag and no-frills hot jazz — all while delving into the deep cuts of King Oliver’s Creole Orchestra, Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, 1920s dance tunes, songs of the New Orleans revival era and more. The original six of them began playing as a group during the pandemic shutdown, when Joyce led several musicians — all core members of the Smoking Times Jazz Club or other local jazz groups — to take their instruments outside and into the street.
They played in parks, parking lots, porches and any other socially distanced public spots where they could make live music. They named themselves for abolitionist John Brown's "Secret Society of Six," and no matter how many players join them in any venue, they continue to use the original name of their busking pandemic-era band born to play for their locked-down city.
The Secret Six show, at 430 Lamarque St., will run from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Adults pay $10 cash at the door; high school students and children get in free. Outdoor seating is an option for paid guests who bring their lawn chairs. Hot, homemade food will be sold next door by the Ladies of the First Free Mission Baptist Church; water, cold drinks and beer are also available.